Before midnight : a retelling of "Cinderella"

Format:

Book

Title:

Before midnight : a retelling of "Cinderella"

Author:

Dokey, Cameron.

ISBN:

9781416934714

9781435200937

9781607447177

9781428719767

Edition:

1st Simon Pulse ed.

Publication Information:

New York : Simon Pulse, 2007.

Physical Description:

193 pages ; 19 cm.

Series title(s):

Once upon a time (New York, N.Y.)

Summary:

In this retelling of the Perrault fairy tale, Cendrillon's father, grief stricken over the death of his wife, leaves his baby daughter to be brought up by servants together with an unidentified infant boy until the day, sixteen-years-later, when a new stepmother with two daughters arrives and changes their lives forever.

Reading Level:

Young Adult.

Title Subject:

Cinderella (Tale) -- Adaptations -- Juvenile fiction.

Subject(s):

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Stepmothers -- Juvenile fiction.

Fathers and daughters -- Juvenile fiction.

Fairy tales.

Stepmothers -- Fiction.

Genre:

Fairy tales -- Juvenile fiction.

Added Uniform Title:

Cinderella. English.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Woodburn Public Library	DOKEY	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In this swoony reimagining of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, a girl with no name and a boy with no history grow up together in isolation until the arrival of La Cendrillon's stepfamily disrupt their quiet existence and bring long-kept secrets to light.

Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal.

The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants' care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married La Cendrillon's father, and her arrival changes their lives.

When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillon's new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny--a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.

Author Notes

Cameron Dokey is the author of nearly thirty young adult novels. Her other fairy tales include The Storyteller's Daughter , Sunlight and Shadow , and Golden . She has also written the #1 bestselling How Not to Spend Your Senior Year . She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and four cats.

Reviews (1)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 6-10-Here are answers to the age-old questions that have plagued so many for so long: What was Cinderella's father thinking? And where was he while his new wife and the stepsisters had their way with her? Not only does Dokey deal with these issues, but she also turns the oft-told story on its head in many unexpected, intriguing, and satisfying ways. When Cendrillon's mother dies after giving birth to her, her father, Etienne de Brabant, blames his newborn daughter. Wishing never to see her again, he disappears from her life for the next 15 years. The fairy godmother in the original tale here is simply the wise housekeeper who delivers Cendrillon and raises her. The stepmother is not wicked, just understandably unhappy at being forced to marry Etienne, who uproots her from her life at court and sends her off to live at his remote estate without even telling her that he has a daughter. The stepsisters are differentiated, dimensional characters as well. In fact, the entire book is filled with strong women who exert their influence on a fairy-tale world and-delightfully-with sensitive and clever young men who recognize their worth. This expanded Cinderella story is a fine addition to the canon including Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997), Donna Jo Napoli's Bound (S & S, 2004), and Margaret Peterson Haddix's Just Ella (S & S, 1999).-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.